Saturday, May 15, 2010

Pasta Primavera

What's not to love about fresh veggies? Asparagus is still available here in Ohio...and still looks nice and fresh, so a couple weeks ago, we had pasta primavera for dinner. Doesn't it look yummy?

Here are the veggies sauteeing in some good olive oil. I added in the baby bella mushrooms first, got them nice & flavorful...then in went the garlic, sliced leeks & yellow squash. The asparagus was the next player to enter, and finally some grape tomatoes & thawed frozen peas. If you look closely at this pic, you can see the steam rising from the pan.

Then the cooked pasta was added...al dente, of course. I used Barilla Plus Thin Spaghetti this time. It does have a lot of extra good things for you, but at 2.5 times the price of a box of regular Barilla Thin Spaghetti, I'm not sure it's going to be a staple on our menu. Once all of this goodness was tossed together, it was served & some grated Parmesan cheese added the final touch. It could have used some Italian flat leaf parsley at the end, too...but we didn't have any that day.

The veggies & pasta were so yummy. Each was done just right...even the asparagus was just tender, but crisp. The only disappointment was the grape tomatoes. They had a very bitter flavor for some reason. Pretty color, but terrible flavor. I'm afraid we picked around those...next time I think additional color will come from sliced carrots or maybe some red peppers. I'm not a big fan of cooked peppers...love them raw, but cooked...not so much. If I add them just at the end, they should be fine.

This yummy pasta dish will definitely take on a lot of reincarnations on our summer menu. Quick & easy...and good for you, too. We have a Farmer's Market opening here in Parma around mid-June...it's at Stearn's Homestead, which is an actual farm right in the heart of Parma, OH! With fresh off the local farm veggies, we'll be eating good in the neighborhood.

More than you probably want to know about me...

I've always been an artist...from as far back as I can remember, I loved to create and share my art. My current passions include quilting, altered art, paper arts and making charms for jewelry.
I'm a CA girl at heart, having lived in San Diego & Corona, CA for most of my adult life, but now find myself in NE Ohio & not thrilled with that! You'll hear a LOT of whining about OH here...it's a nasty place to live.
I currently live in the 1954 bungalow that I grew up in with my sweetie & love of my life, Phil, and our very spoiled kitty, Sunny Cat. We miss our dear sweet Sophie Cat, but Sunny has brought new love into our lives. Now we've rescued 3 kittens that were born in our backyard, so Fluffer, Gracie & Peanut are also part of our family...and they're as cute as can be. More cats = more love! We're hanging in here & doing the best we can.